For all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Harrisburg’s suffocating defense, there was no better display of it than Friday night.

In what was a shutdown of epic proportions, Harrisburg forced Nashville into 30 turnovers on the night and held the Hornets to under 30 points in a 52-26 victory.

Nashville turned the ball over 11 times in the first half, seven of which came in the second quarter as the Bulldogs built a 28-12 halftime lead.

Harrisburg didn’t have to make many halftime adjustments, sticking to their game plan. The results was 10 more miscues by Nashville in the third quarter as the Bulldogs went on cruise control leading 28-12.

Tyler Smithpeters shared scoring honors with Eli Taborn-Scott as each had 17 points, while Capel Henshaw also finished in double figures, tacking on 13 for the Bulldogs who improved to 30-1 and won their second straight IHSA Class 2A Sectional title at West Frankfort’s Max Morris Gymnasium.

Ryne Roper and Dakota Upchurch each scored two points, while Snjolfur Bjornsson had a free thow.

“We knew Nashville would be a tough team and we knew it would be a slower-pace game than what we are used to and really what we like,“ head coach Randy Smithpeters said. “We’re very happy with our defense, which is something I have talked about all season long. People see our three-point shots and our passes, but it’s our defense that is our strength and it was our strength tonight.

“We didn’t score as many points as we often do and yet we have a nice lead just because we defended well. Really happy for the guys for the way they worked on the defensive end and happy with the offensive end as well.”

Nashville finished 9-of-26 from the field and shot 2-of-5 from beyond the arc, while hitting just 4-of-11 from the stripe.

Scott Brown and Daniel Thornson each had five for Nashville, who trailed Harrisburg 12-7 after one quarter of play.

On the flip side, Harrisburg finished 17-of-29 from the field, going 3-of-12 from 3-point range and 15-of-25 from the tripe.

Harrisburg will now play Teutopolis Tuesday night at 8 p.m. in the Class 2A Super Sectional at the SIU Arena.

Nearby resident Gallatin County will play Nokomis at 6 p.m. in the Class 1A Super Sectional.